AFP
January 21, 2013
Photo by Sebastian DerungsJapan’s finance minister Taro Aso said the elderly should be allowed to “hurry up and die” instead of costing the government money for end-of-life medical care.
Aso, who also doubles as deputy prime minister, reportedly said during a meeting of the National Council on Social Security Reforms: “Heaven forbid if you are forced to live on when you want to die. You cannot sleep well when you think it’s all paid by the government.
“This won’t be solved unless you let them hurry up and die,” he said.
Japanese Finance Minister Says Remarks on Elderly Misinterpreted
Mayumi Otsuma
Bloomberg
January 21, 2013
Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said that his remarks on the elderly made earlier in the day were misinterpreted and were intended to refer to himself.
“I was not making a general comment,” on medical care for the elderly, Aso, 72, told reporters in Tokyo.
Earlier in the day, Aso indicated that the medical system shouldn’t use resources to extend the lives of elderly people, Kyodo News reported.
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